EMERGING TECHNOLOGY HORIZONS: Condition-Based Maintenance Requires Data Sharing.

• Author: Driggers, Tom

What can be done to take the Defense Department's efforts in predictive maintenance --also known as condition-based maintenance--to the next level?

Condition-based maintenance systems use sensors and other methods to collect data to let mechanics and logisticians know the most efficient and cost-effective time to replace parts or overhaul equipment. It can save both time and money.

Condition-Based Maintenance Plus, or CBM+, is a Defense Department initiative to enhance safety, increase maintenance efficiency, boost equipment availability and improve environmental integrity, according to department documents.

"There is a compelling need for better analytics around CBM+," Vic Ramdass, deputy assistant secretary of defense for materiel readiness, stated as he addressed a group of professionals from industry, government and academia during a workshop at the National Defense Industrial Association in Arlington, Virginia.

"The DoD has taken several steps to improve CBM+ methodologies over the last 20 years, and predictive maintenance capabilities play a vital role in improving integrated deterrence and providing a tactical and decisive edge to the military services," Ramdass said. The compelling issue, however, is the lack of data sharing.

CBM+ expands on traditional methods by incorporating additional technologies such as prognostics, diagnostics, automatic identification technology and interactive training, as well as additional processes and procedures that enable improved maintenance and logistics practices.

The department generates massive amounts of data that could be applied to CBM+, but often fails to effectively use that data due to it being divided and siloed within agencies, services and contractors without venues to share it openly.

Additionally, there are few incentives for organizations to share data with others, nor is there a set of standards or a framework in place to facilitate downstream analytics. Existing data is often unavailable to the groups where it could be most useful due to a culture of data protection and competitive advantages.

To help the Defense Department take full advantage of the data it already has on system maintenance and sustainment, NDIA's Logistics Division and the Emerging Technologies Institute convened a workshop to develop the outline for two pilot programs that will focus on efforts to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of data sharing as it relates to condition-based maintenance.

The department...